Mined Land Reclamation for Reforestation and TACF s Conservation Innovation Grant

Transcription

1 Mined Land Reclamation for Reforestation and TACF s Conservation Innovation Grant

2 Pre-SMCRA Loblolly Pine, West Kentucky

3 Pre-SMCRA Mixed Hardwood, East Tennessee

4 Pre-SMCRA White Oak, Southern Illinois

5 Pre-SMCRA Black Walnut, Southern Indiana

6 Pre-SMCRA Cottonwood, Southern Indiana

7 Trees were doing well but

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10 Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) Standardized reclamation practices Focused on slope stability, eliminating landslides, and reducing sediment runoff Approximate Original Contour (AOC) Required that mining companies put up a monetary bond before mining commenced Disincentives for reforestation Time to prove seedling establishment Extra cost associated with planting trees

11 Pre SMCRA Meets Post SMCRA

12 Post SMCRA Reclamation

13 Post-SMCRA Reforestation What Happened? In an effort to achieve stability and prevent landslides, spoils were repeatedly graded which created a highly compacted surface. Compacted spoils inhibit root penetration, gas exchange and water infiltration which resulted in high seedling mortality, increased runoff and poor water quality. This led to a widespread failure of tree planting projects. Mining firms and reclamationists became very skilled at creating grasslands: efficient, cheap, successful in achieving bond release.

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17 Hayland/Pasture became the PMLU of choice

18 Arrested Natural Succession

19 Where once were forests Approximately 1,000,000 acres of pastureland

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23 How do we get back to this?

24 The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative A joint venture based on science Office of Surface Mining Universities and Colleges State regulatory agencies Environmental Groups Mining Industry Citizen s groups Inspectors

25 The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative ARRI s goals: Plant more high value native hardwoods Increase seedling survival Expedite the establishment of forest habitat and speed up natural succession

26 Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) Leave 4 feet suitable growth medium on the surface Avoid compaction Use tree compatible groundcovers Plant a variety of trees Early successional trees High-value hardwoods Use proper tree planting techniques

27 End-Dumping of Suitable Material

28 End-Dumping of Suitable Material

29 Strike-off Procedure

30 Push up method

31 STEEP SLOPE FRA

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33 Results of the FRA Year 1 Year 3 Year 11

34 Conventional Reclamation vs. FRA 2,541 trees/cell 7 year old trees on a conventional site 20% survival Tree growth well below regenerating forest of same age 7 year old trees on low compaction site 75% survival Tree growth similar to regenerating forest of same age

35 West Virginia University Catenary Coal Samples Research Area

36 University of Kentucky Bent Mountain Research Complex

37 Ohio University Jockey Hollow Research Complex

38 Yes, we can grow trees on mines why are we using American chestnut? Not enough work linking chestnut restoration with mine reclamation Mine soils can be very productive Lack of initial vegetative competition Avoidance of Phytothphora root rot Surface mines may aid chestnut dispersal into existing forests Many surface mines are at higher elevations where chestnuts were once the dominant species And

39 Natural range of the American chestnut Extent of coal fields in Appalachian region Native range of American chestnut. From Little, E.L., Jr., 1977, Atlas of United States trees, volume 4, Minor Eastern Hardwoods: U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1342, 17 p., 230 maps.

40 American Chestnut and Mineland Reforestation? Chestnut will thrive on a variety of soils, from almost pure sand to coarse gravels and shales. In general it prefers the dry, welldrained rocky land of the glacial drift to the richer, more compact alluvial soil of the lowland. From: Gifford Pinchot, 1907, Forest Service Circular 71. Forest Planting Leaflet. Chestnut

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42 Chestnut Mortality on Mine Sites Thus far attributable to blight, drought Swollen blight canker Healthy root system

43 Survival so far Ranges from 41% to 89% for research seedlings after 2 years 100% survival through the first year of germinated seed from a special line A direct-seeded chestnut after 1 ½ years on mine spoil

44 What can be done about this? 750,000 1,000,000 acres in need of restoration

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48 Green Forests Work Started as a program to stimulate the local economy by creating jobs Was not funded Continued anyway with no funding Garnered support and attention Appalachian Regional Commission A new 501(c)3 non-profit

49 Green Forests Work After 5 years: Plant 125 million trees on 175,000 acres Create 2,000 jobs associated with reforestation Sequester 11.7 million tons of carbon After 50 years: Plant more than 1 billion trees on more than 1 million acres Create 17,000 permanent jobs Produce $2.2 billion in timber value Sequester 100 million tons of carbon

50 Green Forests Work (Gaining Momentum) 2009: 40 acres on 10 sites 28,000 trees 500 volunteers+ no funding 2010: 200 acres on 17 sites 140,000 trees 2,000 volunteers + little funding 2011: 680 acres on 18 sites 500,000 trees 1,700 volunteers + more funding

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52 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) 3 Goals: Establish mixed hardwood/american chestnut plantings to demonstrate successful reforestation of mined lands Create tools for evaluating reforestation sites Training workshops Technical Note State and transition model Support TACF s online Trees Database

53 CIG Reclamation Plantings Utilize ARRI s Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) and TACF s Restoration Chestnuts 1.0 Each of the 12 plantings will be approx. 30 acres on reclaimed mines Est in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia Planting density of 700 seedlings/ac. with chestnuts at 20/ac. (approx. 29 acres) 1-acre progeny test/founder population of Restoration Chestnuts

54 CIG Reclamation Plantings Schuylkill County 2012 Silvicultural demonstration Progeny test/founder population

55 Online Trees Database Will allow TACF staff, volunteers, researchers, and natural resource professionals to store, share, and track data on American chestnut plantings Useful for future land management recommendations Tiered access model

56 Tools for Restoration State and transition model Shows different potential states as the site crosses thresholds or transitions to a new state (e.g. grass dominated field to shrub habitat) Aid land managers in developing reforestation plans Training Workshops 1 for each planting (generate local involvement) Chestnut biology, ecology, pests and pathogens, methods for monitoring sites Technical Note A manual describing BMPs for planning, growing, and managing chestnuts

57 Questions and Comments? Questions? Photo courtesy of The American Chestnut Foundation Photo courtesy of T.G. Barnes